salted caramel peanut butter cups

Things are all of a sudden moving quickly. Boxes are being packed. Belongings are being sold. Memories are being remembered. Goodbyes are being said. And time is being savored. 

The thought of what the next few weeks and months hold send my mind spinning. I'm overjoyed, excited, and relieved to be heading home. But when you're in one place for two and a half years, there's something still there, pulling you back, asking you to please not leave. 

I have difficulty falling asleep at night, reliving old memories of game nights with friends, pool parties, and singing in the streets past dark. But those memories fade to gray and I'm brought to now; the reality that things have changed since then. The thought of going back home, starting over, and beginning a new journey sends shivers down my spine. I can't wait. 

These next few weeks, I'm vowing to relish in every moment left here. To soak it all in, tucking these moments away to relive when I'm no longer here, but 9,000 miles across the globe. 

There's a limited amount left of coffee dates with my parents, trips out to see kids who have stolen my heart, peaceful mind-clearing evening runs, and game and movie nights with my family.  It's hard to believe that soon these things will be nothing but used-to-be's. But the future excites me. New adventures, new challenges, new people, new lessons to learn. It's all so exciting to me. 

Please bare with me over the next few weeks and months as my life speeds up and my blog slows down. 

salted caramel peanut butter cups (raw & vegan) 

chocolate coating: 

1/2 c. coconut oil, melted 

3 tbsp. honey/maple syrup

1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

dash of vanilla

pinch of sea salt 

peanut butter filling: 

3 tbsp. creamy peanut butter

1 tbsp. honey/maple syrup

1 tbsp. coconut oil

date caramel: 

1/2 c. chopped dates

1 tbsp. honey/maple syrup

dash of vanilla extract

Begin by preparing the chocolate coating, whisking together all ingredients until smooth. If it seems to liquiddy, let chill for a few minutes until it thickens up. Pour into 10 small paper cups, coating the sides. Reserve about 1/3 c. of chocolate and set aside. Place chocolate cups in freezer and chill while you prepare the fillings. First, prepare the peanut butter filling by whisking all ingredients until smooth; set aside. In a small bowl, soak dates in boiling water. Drain and place in a blender. Add sweetener and vanilla and pulse until smooth, adding more water as needed. Take chocolate cups from freezer. Spoon peanut butter filling into each cup and repeat with caramel. Top with remaining chocolate. Chill for 5-6 hours or overnight. Store in freezer. 

banoffee breakfast parfaits

I've been thinking about my blog a lot lately the last couple of weeks, evaluating what I'm really doing. I felt as if what started as a fun hobby became a chore that I didn't want to do. I hate it, but I was whipping out lots of content, but was it good? Did I actually like it? Was I having fun putting it together? No. I was feeling in such a rut and I didn't know what direction I was heading. It crossed my mind to delete my blog, live life, and bake just for the fun of it like normal people do. But I've put 3 years of my time and creativity into this space and I would hate to undo all of my hard work. 

Although I won't be deleting my blog anytime soon, I'm feeling like it's a good idea to take a step back and blog only when I feel like it, when I'm really enjoying it. I need to get used to the feeling of baking for baking's sake, not whipping out the camera or writing things down every time I'm in the kitchen. My goal is to put more thought into my content, post only the really good recipes, the ones with the pictures I love, even if that means only posting every couple of weeks! So that's what I'm going to do. It feels good to have a plan and to take a step back. 

All of that aside, let's talk about breakfast. I'm a breakfast enthusiast {that's putting it mildly.} and really don't understand those people who just forget to have breakfast. LIKE WHAT? That's like forgetting to breathe. Every morning, it's a choice between oatmeal, smoothies, toast, or granola. Pretty much 97% of the time, I lean towards the classic granola and banana. And since I'm also a dessert nut and lover of date caramel, why not combine all of the above to form a hearty breakfast or dessert. Or dinner. 

My original plan was to make this recipe vegan by using whipped coconut cream in the layers. I read somewhere not to use light coconut milk and realized only after taking my can out of the fridge, that's what I had used. So basically I just had a refrigerated can of coconut milk. Fun. I decided to compromise by using greek yogurt instead {GASP.} Then there's some homemade granola which I almost always have laying around, a quick date caramel sauce, and sliced bananas. Layer it all up in cute little jars or glasses and HEYO. You just won the freaking adorable breakfast slash dessert award. Congrats. 

banoffee breakfast parfaits 

date caramel: 

1/2 c. chopped dates, soaked in hot water and drained

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tbsp. maple syrup

1/2 c. milk 

topping:

1-2 bananas, sliced

3/4 c. plain greek yogurt

3/4 c. granola 

To prepare the caramel, blend dates, vanilla, maple syrup, and milk until smooth. Pour into a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 5-10 minutes. Let cool. To prepare the parfaits, layer granola on the bottom of two jars. Layer with yogurt, banana slices, and caramel. Repeat until the jars are filled. If desired, top with lid and store jars in refrigerator for 3-5 days. 

caramel chocolate chip rice krispies

I am quite proud of myself. Guess who has two thumbs and ran everyday last week? This girl! Well except for Thursday because I had to be up at 4:30 in the morning for an African road trip. We saw elephants and LOTS of 'em so it's all G. 

It was kinda a pain {the running. not the road trip.} but I persevered through it. With the help of my pink sports bra and Enrique Iglesias. Since I ran so much last week, I felt so good and wanted to EAT good so I really didn't get around to baking much. I feel bad. BUT! I made up for it by making you these.

The perfect ooey gooey, messy combo of sticky caramel, marshmallows, and *gasp*… Chocolate. I personally, like a minimum amount of cereal and the absolute MAXIMUM amount of gooey marshmallows. But if you're against this belief, do as you wish. It's a free land.

Caramel Chocolate Chip Rice Krispies
3 tbsp. butter
1/2 bag mini marshmallows {I couldn't measure them because they were a melted sticky mess from our care package.}
3 c. rice krispies
3/4 c. Nestle Caramel Treat {I'm sure you could use melted caramel candies or even caramel sauce.}
1 c. chocolate chips

In a medium sauce pan, on medium hear, melt the butter. Add in the marshmallows. Stir consistently until smooth, otherwise the marshmallow will burn. Add in the rice krispies. Stir in the caramel and chocolate chips. Press into a 9x13 pan.  Pop them into the refrigerator for a couple hours to firm up. Enjoy!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting

Ok… So I was thinking about not posting these. BECAUSE I wasn't a huge fan. But the pictures were too good to let them go to waste. Darn you bad African baking ingredients. I think it was the brown sugar that wrecked it for me. When I get brown sugar there's two choices- either like brown colored granulated sugar, or sugar that's basically molasses flavored. And that's what we had at the time. SOOOO… It was more like molasses frosting. EEW. BUT! I can guarantee you these would be SO good if you have normal ingredients unlike yours truly… So here ya go. Give it a shot!

For some reason every time I make cupcakes they don't really turn out well. Is that even legal to be a baker and not be able to make cupcakes? Mehh.

{guess who doesn't have a future in professional cupcake frosting… That's not a job. But still.}

Chocolate Cupcakes

1 stick {1/2 c.} of butter

2 eggs

3/4 c. milk

one box/bag chocolate cake mix

1/3 c. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set aside. 

Pop the butter in the microwave to soften. Add in the eggs and milk. 

Stir until combined. Mix in the cake mix, flour, and baking powder. 

Scoop the batter evenly into the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes

or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. After the cupcakes have cooled, top with salted caramel frosting. {recipe follows}

Naked cupcakes, what? That's almost as bad as… *shivers* coffee cake without a crumble topping. Let's fix that, shall we? 

Salted Caramel Frosting
Recipe from//Sally's Baking Addiction

1 stick {1/2 c.} butter

1 c. dark brown sugar

1/3 c. heavy cream

1/4 tsp. salt

2/3 c. powdered sugar

Melt butter in a saucepan. Once melted, add brown sugar and heavy cream. Stir constantly over medium hear until sugar is dissolved. Add salt. Allow to bubble for about 1 minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool. {if you're as impatient as me, you sure could put it in the fridge to speed up the process.} Beat in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, until you reach desired consistency. Pipe or frost cupcakes as desired.

Wishing you all better cupcake-making!

-Sophie